Log inSign up

Ovo je pisac koji mi je dao knjigu.

Ovo je pisac koji mi je dao knjigu.
This is the writer who gave me the book.
From Lesson 114:Relative pronouns in the nominative (koji, koja)·Croatian

Questions & Answers about Ovo je pisac koji mi je dao knjigu.

Why do we use koji here?
Koji means who or which. It is a relative pronoun that must match the gender and number of the noun it refers to. Since it refers to pisac (writer), which is a masculine singular noun, we use the masculine singular form koji. If the writer was a woman, it would be koja.
Why are the words mi and je placed right after koji?
Mi (to me) and je (is) are clitics. Clitics are short words that naturally want to sit in the second position of a sentence or clause. Because the relative pronoun koji starts a brand new clause, the clitics take the second position immediately after it.
Why is the order mi je and not je mi?
When multiple clitics cluster together, they follow a strict sequence. Pronouns in the dative case (like mi) always come before auxiliary verbs (like je).
Why is the word for book knjigu instead of knjiga?
Knjigu is the accusative case of the feminine noun knjiga. We use the accusative case for direct objects, which are the things being acted upon. Here, the book is the thing that was given.

Learn Ovo je pisac koji mi je dao knjigu and more in Croatian

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Croatian →